QualityWings Status Update (3Q2014)

• • Addons, Aircraft, Payware
QWingsSim

QualityWings have posted a newsy update on their Facebook page to let everyone know what’s happening on their two highly anticipated projects under way at present. The 787 and their 737 Class (courtesy of the Enigma team joining them). As an AirNZ fan I’m super excited about both these models. The 787 given its just entered service in New Zealand (and with Jetstar in Aussie) but also as the Classic has been operated on both sides of the Tasman for so long and this model looks like its gonna beat the pants of the only other payware level competition from FeelThere/Wilco.

We hope you all have enjoyed your last few months as much as we have. Summertime is a great time to spend with your families and friends, and we are no different here. As the season starts to change for most of us here at QualityWings from the summer to the fall and as we exit this 3rd quarter…it’s time to provide our update on all things QualityWings.

FSAddon – Avro Anson

• • Aircraft, FSX, Millitary, P3D
FSB-100

The Warbird simming fans really are in luck these days, and in some cases there are multiple options for the same aircraft model. Take the Avro Anson for example, a machine operated by various Commonwealth forces. A2A released one awhile back and now there’s the FSAddon rendition for FSX and P3D. Check it out at fspilotshop and take her for a spin. There’s even an RNZAF livery included, just not sure if it’s the one thats actually flying real-life in NZ after a recent restoration.

At the start of the Second World War, there were 26 RAF squadrons operating the Anson I: 10 with Coastal Command and 16 with Bomber Command. However, by this time, it was obsolete in the roles of bombing and coastal patrol and was being superseded by the Armstrong Whitworth Whitley and Lockheed Hudson…. In its lifetime the Anson served with the RAF, the Canadian RCAF and Navy, The New Zealand RNZAF, as AT-20 in the USAAF. A few ended up in the Egyptian Air Force and others at the Royal Afghan Air Force ater 1948.There were many more civilian operators after the war and the Anson was made well into 1952.

Air New Zealand 787-9 to Perth, second -9 takes flight

• • Aircraft, AirNZ
AirNZ-B789

As reported over on the Australian Aviation website this week the second of Air New Zealand’s 787-900s is preparing for its delivery flight, and the current in service model has expanded trans-tasman services to Perth now…

Air New Zealand’s debut of Boeing 787-9 services to Perth comes as the airline’s second 787-9 is prepared for delivery after completing its first flight over Washington State. ZK-NZF took off from Everett field on Sunday, September 14 local time and was in the air for one hour and 49 minutes before landing at Moses Lake, according to flight tracking website flightaware.com.

Project Airbus A32X sharklet preview

• • Aircraft, Freeware
PHLshark

Stian from the Project Airbus team has posted an update and some pics of the new sharklet fitted models from them for the entire range of narrow body Airbus. No doubt any Pacific repaints will be adaptable with a tweak for the winglets themselves. Be interesting to see. More info and pics in the form post here…

Here is a sneakpeak of an update for the A32X series.. And yes.. The whole series will have sharklets. From A318 to A321. More previews will come in this topic! First out is two A321’s.. Still WIP. Dont ask for release date!

PMDG 777 review and interview with Rob Randazzo

• • Aircraft, Interviews, Payware, Reviews
pmdg_773er_exterior

I know I know, it’s not like we’ve had a shortage of reviews and accolades for the PMDG 777, but this review has a twist in that it wraps up with a brief interview with Rob Randazzo..

Waiting for Service Pack 1 for the PMDG 777-200LR/F took longer than anyone, including PMDG themselves, expected. But now that it’s finally there, and I’ve had a chance to test it, let’s take a new look at the product in question… When you finish the review itself, keep on reading! Robert S. Randazzo, the CEO of PMDG, has taken some time out of his schedule to answer some questions. The answers he provided are very interesting, and are added to the bottom of this review in the form of a short interview for the readers enjoyment.

Wilco Tecnam P2006T released

• • Addons, Aircraft, FSX, P3D, Payware
tecnam_3d

Wilco have just published a decent looking rendition of the Tecnam P2006T light twin. With a few of these about in the Pacific, and likely to appear in Aero Club and training companies in the region over time, this would be a nice machine to pickup for local simmers…

Wilco Publishing announce a new title in the HiFi Simulations series : the P2006T by Tecnam. The P2006T is a modern 4-seats light twin-engine aircraft.  It is an excellent trainer for twin engined aircraft as used by real life aircraft training companies.  It is stable and provides superb all-round vision with the wing-high configuration.The P2006T features STOL and rough runway operation capabilities.

see the Product Page

Second AirNZ B789 pics emerge

• • Aircraft, AirNZ, Real World
AirNZ-B789

Another piece of news from the MRC blog last week, pics are emerging (photo on this post by Royal S King) of the second AirNZ B789 in the new white and black livery making its first public appearance at Paine Field before delivery..

Air New Zealand’s Boeing 787-9 ZK-NZF MSN 34335 has broken cover at Paine Field these last couple of days as it prepares to make its first flight and be delivered to Auckland during the third week of September.

Airwork Boeing 737-400 freight conversion

• • Aircraft, Aviation News, Real World
Toll-737

As reported on Mike Condon’s blog last week, Airwork have just finished converting one of their 737s from PAX to Freighter config, a couple of nice pics and some background on the blog post. All we need now is for the QWings team to get around to releasing that 737 Class model they’ve been working on…

Following the landing accident of Airwork/Toll Boeing 737-300 freighter ZK-TLC at Honiara on 26 January 2014 and its subsequent scraping the operator delivered ZK-JTQ to Florida for reconfiguration to a freighter and it departed Brisbane for Apia and Kona on 23 March.  It was noted again 17 August (NZ time) in transit at Long Beach, no doubt having arrived from Florida, and continued onto Kona.

JustFlight DC-8 Jetliner Series 50 to 70

• • Aircraft, Payware
dc8-jetliner-series-50-to-70

Some pretty excited kiwi simmers about the place (myself included) now that JustFlight have come good on their plan to release the 50-70 series models for their DC8 airliner. This aircraft was originally released with the 10-40 models and with this new pack they include an Air NZ livery as operated by the airline in the 70’s. Not 100% sure if the earlier model is required, it’s not clear from the website, but there’s plenty of interest in the forums, no doubt it will sell pretty well. Certainly looks the part…

The classic ‘short fuselage’ DC-8 first flew on 30th May 1958 and covered the -10 to -50 series but in 1965 a stretched fuselage series was announced, starting with the -60 series. This FSX and Prepar3D collection covers the short fuselage -50 series up to the ultra-long stretched -73 series and includes three distinctive cockpit variations from the classic round-dial analogue version through a part-modernised version to the modern ‘glass cockpit’ variant in the later models.

RAZBAM metro-liner review at Aerosoft

• • Addons, Aircraft, Payware, Reviews
RAZBAM-metroliner

Tyler Walter has published a review of the RAZBAM Metroliner over at Aerosoft this week. If you haven’t bought this machine yet you should take a squiz at this review, its positive in almost all respects, and the machine is well represented in real-world in the Pacific… go on, you know you want to..

The Metroliner is much bigger then the Cessna C172, but it flies so easily. You can expect it already; all the flight phases including the landing where a success and while I’m taxing back to the ramp, I can look back to a great aircraft. Great in modeling, a gorgeous virtual cockpit and I think, realistic flight characteristics. Well done RAZBAM! This plane is well simulated, and would function well in my opinion in both of the categories of transition aircraft from general aviation to passenger liner, and good domestic airliner rather like the Dash Q400. I would say that this is a good stepping-stone from general aviation to full commercial airliners.